Twinken was pacing in the Apple Family living room, garbed in a wizard outfit he’d gotten from the local party store’s costume sale special. He groaned and yelled towards the stairs, “Come on, Midnight! We’re gonna be late for the Nightmare Night festival!”
“Silence!”
He yelped as a shadowy aura spilled down the stairs before it bunched together, and rising from the haze did appear Midnight, clad in cold-metal armor, a red cape fit for a king hanging from his shoulders over his back, his mane swept up handsomely, and he wore a circlet-like crown with two spikes on each side, black protrusions framing his face, as well as one extending down the middle of his face with his horn sticking through a hole, and a small red ornament in the middle.
He stood triumphantly, his brows furrowed, as he proudly stepped past Twinken, saying, “For the king… has arrived!”
“Uh… king who?” Twinken asked, Midnight’s eyes popping in surprise.
“I’m King Sombra of the Crystal Empire!” Midnight clarified.
Twinken gave him a look.
“The Unicorn whose Heart is as Black as Night?” tried Midnight, Twinken blinking in response.
“Urgh, did you even read that book on obscure unicorn history I borrowed for your history report? Speaking of which, what grade did you get on that assignment?”
“Uh…!” Twinken stalled when they heard a knock, “I’ll get it!”
He streaked past Midnight, sending him in a twirl, as Twinken opened the door and found himself facing three costumed fillies as they all chanted, “Nightmare Night, what a fright! Give us something sweet to bite!”
“Granny Smith! The girls are here to go trick or treating,” Twinken yelled as Midnight came up, levitating a bowl of candy.
“Good evening, everypony, great costumes!”
At that moment, a little painted earth pony colt forced himself forward, garbed in a pirate outfit as he tried a little sword-play with a toy one, only to fall over. Midnight chuckled as the little guy stood up and spoke with a Trottingham-accent, “Pipsqueak the pirate, at your service! It’s my very first Nightmare Night!”
“Since you moved her from Trottingham?” Midnight asked.
“No, my very first Nightmare Night ever!” clarified Pipsqueak when they all jumped at the “Ba-kaw!”
It was Pinkie Pie in a big chicken costume as she forcefully said, “Enough chitchat, time is candy!”
“Heh, guess nopony’s too old for a little holiday fun, eh Pinkie?” Midnight chuckled.
“Too old for free candy?!” Pinkie gasped before hissing, “Never…!”
Shaking his head, Midnight chuckled as he levitated pieces of candy into everypony’s bags as Granny Smith came along, muttering, “Gettin’ an ol’ lady t’ go out like this past her bedtime…”
While the kids took off, Midnight asked, “Oh Pinkie, what do you think of my costume?”
Pinkie scrutinized him, Midnight posing regally when Pinkie bubbled, “Oh great, Midnight! You make an awesome psycho killer!”
“A psycho?!” Midnight echoed indignantly as Pinkie took off, Twinken laughing a bit as they stepped outside.
“Look at this peytral, do you know how much these armor pieces cost me to have forged?!”
“It’s a great costume, your highness!” Twinken teased as they made their way to the festival, Midnight growling in irritation.
As they made their way into town, they took in all the amazing decorations, and all the costumed ponies, and all the attractions and foods and candies. They saw Big Mac costumed as Edward Hayde as he gave wagon-rides, there was a band of scarecrow ponies playing music and some were dancing, the Cakes were costumed as rag-dolls and managing a food-stand they’d set up.
“This is so cool!” Midnight said aloud, reminded of a holiday from another life. “Surprising how everypony pulled out all the stocks for this festival!”
“Is it any wonder?” Twinken asked as he rode on Midnight’s back. “Nightmare Night’s one of the most awesome holidays!”
Suddenly Midnight realized something, “But… doesn’t it kinda demonize Princess Luna? After all, she used to be Nightmare Moon, and this kind of holiday can’t be good for her image since she’s been back.”
Before Twinken could say anything, they heard a crack of lightning and thunder and heard some screams, the sources made apparent as Pinkie and the young trick-or-treaters she’d been with ran past the two brothers.
“Hey Midnight, Twinken!”
They looked ahead and saw Twilight garbed in a wizard outfit, wearing a fake-beard, her cape and the tip of her heart sewed with bells.
“Oh hey Twi,” Midnight said when he noticed a costumed Spike on her back, lurching for some reason.
“What happened to him?”
“Little prank by Rainbow,” Twilight said and she led them further into the festival, the two brothers just shrugging at each other.
In no time at all, Spike was good to walk on his own and Twinken joined him as they all happened upon some ponies apple-bobbing, and of course Applejack was there, dressed as a scarecrow.
“Happy Nightmare Night, Applejack!” Twilight greeted.
“Howdy y’all,” Applejack greeted them, “nice costumes.”
“Thanks, I’m a dragon,” Spike replied, Twilight giving him a look.
“She means me, Spike,” she snapped indignantly.
“And why are you dressed as a dragon when you’re already a dragon?" added Midnight. "Is there a joke somewhere around here I’m not getting?”
Spike gave him the stink-eye while Applejack said to Twilight, “Why, wit’ tha’ beard, you look like you could be some country-music singer!”
“No kidding!”
“Rumble, Button!” Twinken greeted happily as the gray Pegasus colt and his darker gray older brother Thunderlane showed up, followed by Button Mash.
Rumble wore a green tunic, a feathered cap, and had a little bow and arrow while Button Mash wore a silver tunic with a red cape and carried a small sword. Thunderlane wore an aviator’s jacket and goggles, “Happy Nightmare Night, everypony!”
“Heh-hey!” Midnight said as he and Thunder hoof-bumped while the boys gathered and compared costumes.
“I’m a wizard!”
“I’m an archer!”
“I’m a warrior, like from my Manecraft game!”
“Hey, while y’all are here,” Applejack asked, “ya feel like bobbin’ fer an apple?”
But before any of them could answer, they heard an applause and looked to the stage where the musicians had been and it appeared the mayor was making a speech, wearing a clown costume, complete with a rainbow afro wig and rubber clown nose.
“Thank you, everypony, and welcome to the Nightmare Night festival!”
Everypony cheered as the friends joined the crowd and Mayor Mare went on.
“Now, all the little ponies who have been out collecting sweets should follow our friend Zecora to hear the legend of… Nightmare Moon!”
Mayor Mare laughed in a spooky way in an attempt to sell the fear but Spike muttered to the others, “Spooky voice might work better if she wasn’t dressed like that.”
“Preaching to the choir,” Twinken agreed while the older ponies laughed.
Suddenly, in a poof of shimmery green haze, Zecora appeared, dressed like a witch, with spiders in her mane.
“Follow me and very soon,
You’ll hear the tale of Nightmare Moon!”
With a swirl of her cloak, she walked off-stage and made for the edge of the Everfree Forest, and the little ponies knew they were supposed to follow, with some of the older ponies following for supervision. Zecora led them into a small clearing not too far into the forest, where stood a statue of the infamous Mare in the Moon, rearing up and sneering malevolently as Zecora stood by the statue and awaited all who had come to hear the legend.
“Listen close, my little dears,
I”ll tell you where you got your fears
Of Nightmare Night, so dark and scary,
Of Nightmare Moon, who makes you wary”
She blew a green powder and somehow conjured an image of Nightmare Moon, who dove down on the ponies and engulfed them in a haze. Though they could no longer see, they could still hear Zecora as she went on.
“Every year we put on a disguise,
To save ourselves from her searching eyes”
The foals screamed, little Pipsqueak running into the statue.
“For Nightmare Moon wants just one thing,
To gobble up ponies in one quick swing!”
Pipsqueak accidentally bumped into Pinkie who’d been hiding her head in the ground like an ostrich, making them both scream as Zecora threw out another hooful of her illusion-creating powder.
“Hungrily, she soars the skies
If she sees nopony, she passes by”
The image of Nightmare Moon looked over the costumed foals but left them alone.
“So if she comes and all is clear,
Equestria is safe another year!”
The image soared up and exploded into a shower of green glimmers when Zecora felt a tug on her cloak, Pipsqueak asking, “Uh, Miss Zecora? If we wear costumes to hide from Nightmare Moon, so she won’t gobble us up, how come we still need to give her some of our candy?”
Zecora pulled on a wicked smile as she explained.
“A perfect question, my little friend,
For Nightmare Moon you must not offend.”
She blew more of the powder, another image of the Mare in the Moon appearing before them.
“Fill up her belly with a treat or two,
So she won’t return to come eat you!!!”
The illusion leapt at them with a mouthful of fangs but simply exploded into another haze, the foals all jumping as Pinkie screamed and led them all in pouring some candy in front of the statue, “Everypony! Just dump some candy and get outta here!”
But at that moment, the wind picked up and it was not Zecora’s doing. Clouds gathered and swirled above, with the moon in the eye of the apparent storm, much to the older ponies’ worry, when there was a flash of light!
From the radiance did appear a scary chariot pulled by what appeared to be Pegasus Royal Guard ponies only they wore frightful suits of armor and had the wings of bats, their passenger cloaked with only a horn hinting to their identity.
They stopped overhead, Pinkie screaming, “It’s Nightmare Moon! Run!”
She ran off, followed by some screaming colts and fillies, along with Zecora and Mayor Mare, while the mysterious passenger smiled in anticipation of the events to unfold…